In the aftermath of the raging storm, Hardin helped tend to the wounded in the Jedi camp. Worried about his cousin, Darovit, Hardin asked another young recruit, Ginger, if he had seen him. Hardin could hardly believe what Ginger told him. The rumors that were going through the Jedi camp said Darovit had joined up with the Sith. As if this was not enough, Hardin learned that Darovit had killed Kiel Charny, with his own lightsaber no less. As the Jedi prepared for more battle with the Sith, Hardin received his first lightsaber from Lord Hoth himself.

As the last battle of Ruusan commenced, Hardin was assigned to a squad that was tasked with guarding the exit of a network of Sith tunnels and caves. Deep within the caves, Hardin and the Jedi discovered the Sith woman Githany and none other than Darovit making their way towards the Jedi. Now both armed with lightsabers, Hardin and Darovit fought their own battle below Ruusan's surface, cousin versus cousin. As Githany watched the battle, she urged Darovit to finish Hardin quickly and helped him by taking off Hardin's right leg with her lightwhip.

As Hardin lay defeated, Darovit's lightsaber at his throat, he asked how Darovit could have fallen so far into darkness. Darovit had revered the Jedi, but wound up a traitor. Before Darovit could land a killing blow, Lord Kaan detonated his thought bomb, an ancient Sith weapon that would annihilate both the Jedi and the Sith. As the bomb's wave of destruction swept the planet, Hardin's life essence began to drain from his body. With the caves crumbling around him, Hardin was crushed by a falling boulder and passed into the Force.

Unfortunately, the life essence of Hardin and the rest of the Army of Light became trapped on Ruusan due to Kaan's thought bomb. This collection of life and Force energy became known as the Valley of the Jedi. After the Battle of Ruusan and the defeat of the Army of Light and the Brotherhood of Darkness, an effort was made to forget about Ruusan and the Valley of the Jedi. It's location was eventually forgotten and the planet fell into legend. It would be more than a thousand years before Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn rediscovered the planet and fulfilled a prophecy that finally released the trapped spirits.